Tottenham will stick with Redknapp after ditching Rodgers and Baldini contingency plans

The Spurs boss missed out on the England job but is set to stay in charge at White Hart Lane next season after the club considered re-introducing director of football model

EXCLUSIVE
By Greg Stobart and Wayne Veysey

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp is set to stay at the club this summer even if he fails to guide his team to a place in next season’s Champions League.

Spurs have ditched contingency plans made before Redknapp was overlooked for the England job that was taken by Roy Hodgson on Tuesday, an appointment that shocked senior club figures.

Chairman Daniel Levy has a number of misgivings over Redknapp following Tottenham’s poor run of form in the final third of the season but he is described as being almost certain to stick with the 65-year-old this summer.

Goal.com understands that the Londoners were so convinced that Redknapp would be leaving for England that they had lined up Roma general manager Franco Baldini as director of football in a planned change to the club’s management structure.

Baldini is believed to have been sounded out in recent weeks for the post but told Spurs that he was happy to stay at Roma, who he joined permanently last October after leaving the England set-up.

Although no final decision had been made, Spurs were looking at re-introducing the director of football model that they abandoned in 2008 when Damien Comolli was sacked. The plan was for a recruitment specialist to work alongside a younger manager like Brendan Rodgers, who had become the club's first choice to succeed Redknapp once it became clear that Jose Mourinho was unavailable.

HARRY HOTSPUR
REDKNAPP'S TOTTENHAM RECORD
GAMES PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST WIN PERCENTAGE	196 97 49 50 49%

But Levy has concluded that Redknapp deserves another season in charge, even if Spurs miss out on a Champions League place that looked a certainty when Fabio Capello resigned as England manager at the start of February. They currently sit fourth in the Premier League with two games to play, one point behind third-placed Arsenal and level on points with Newcastle.

The uncertainty surrounding Redknapp, added to the poor results, has caused his stock to fall within the club and plans for a four-year contract worth £16 million have been put on ice. A strong finish to the season would push his claim for a new deal, with his existing contract set to expire next summer.

“Our minds were made up that Harry was leaving and some exciting ideas were put together about how to take the club forward,” a Tottenham source told Goal.com.

“But there was no outstanding candidate and there is little sense in taking a huge gamble on a manager like Rodgers who still has so much to prove. When you look at the bigger picture, Harry has done an excellent job in the last three-and-a-half years.”

Rodgers was sounded out over a move to White Hart Lane after Tottenham accepted Mourinho will stay at Real Madrid for at least one more season. Spurs planned a stringent interview process with the likes of David Moyes and Roberto Martinez also under consideration.

Senior figures at Spurs hope that Redknapp will be able to resolve issues in the squad after receiving complaints from the players, via their agents, about the former Portsmouth manager’s tactics and match preparation.

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Redknapp has said that he is committed to staying at Tottenham after missing out on the England job and is ready to plan with Levy for the future.

"I've got a great job at Spurs and I'd like to continue that for as long as I can,” he said. “It's up to Daniel whether I get a new contract but I'd like to stay on.

"We've had a few difficult weeks but it's been a great four years. I will plan the future here."

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